Infective endocarditis of a left ventricular myxoma in a heroin user

Abstract

Infected cardiac myxomas are rare and can have disastrous sequelae; urgent surgical resection is typically indicated. We report the case of a 43-year-old user of intravenous heroin who presented with weakness and dyspnea. He was diagnosed with infective endocarditis of a myxoma attached to the left ventricular lateral wall. The patient underwent successful surgical resection of the myxoma and then completed 4 weeks of antibiotic therapy. In addition to discussing this patient’s case, we briefly review the relevant medical literature, in which we found only 4 previous reports of left ventricular myxoma associated with infective endocarditis.